Robert Ambrogi BlogIn Missouri, public defenders earn a starting salary of $37,800 but were expected to handle an average of 298 cases each last year. Throughout the United States, public defenders are in similar circumstances, earning low salaries, carrying heavy caseloads and handling some of the toughest cases our legal system sees. What dedication drives them to…
No gay marriage in Mass. for nonresidents
The court that made history in 2003 for allowing gays in Massachusetts to marry today ruled that nonresident gays do not share that right. Today’s decision in Cote-Whitacre v. Department of Public Health was a one-paragraph order followed by three concurring opinions and one dissent. The one-paragraph order said:
…“The orders denying the plaintiffs’
Bad marketing part 2: Back to school
Based on comments to my post yesterday, Bad marketing 101: This is not a blog, at least one reader took it to be a criticism of the lawyer. That was not my intent. My criticism was directed at the Web design and marketing consultants who built this site for the lawyer and helped her…
Law.com names new Blog Watch editors
Law.com today announced two new editors of its Legal Blog Watch. One is someone I know pretty well — me. The other is someone I am proud to join — Carolyn Elefant. The toughest part of the assignment, as I noted here, will be trying to fill the shoes of…
NLJ revamps its Web site
The National Law Journal yesterday launched a redesigned Web site, with added stories and new navigation and search tools. According to this announcement, the NLJ’s home page will now have expanded content including Web-only stories, daily updates and advance postings of stories scheduled for the print edition. The page also now offers
BlackBerry case nets firm $200 million
As the UK publication The Lawyer reports, there are a lot of smiling faces at the Washington, D.C., law firm Wiley Rein & Fielding. For its work representing NTP in its four-year patent dispute against BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, the firm received a $200 million payout — nearly a third of the…
Update: SJC sidesteps out-of-state practice issue
UPDATE: In my rush to read the case below, I overlooked a second SJC decision yesterday that addresses this question in more detail: Superadio Limited Partnership v. Winstar Radio Productions. In a case involving out-of-state practice in an AAA commercial arbitration, the SJC notes that the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct now expressly…
Bad marketing 101: This is not a blog
A Long Island, N.Y., IP lawyer recently sent out a press release announcing her new Web site, called Intellectulaw.com. The site is designed and hosted by FirmSite, a division of Thomson FindLaw. Like many sites these days, it includes a link to what it calls the Intellectulaw blog. At first glance,…
‘Happiness index’ puts lawyers at bottom
A new poll of the happiest workers in the UK puts lawyers second to bottom, ahead of only pharmacists. Surprisingly, however, lawyers ranked sixth — tied with butchers — for best work/life balance. The City & Guilds Happiness Index is compiled annually to track the satisfaction of the UK’s workforce. The happiest workers in…
FindLaw launches tax center
FindLaw today announced the launch of a tax center for consumers. The center provides access to forms, laws and other resources.…
Florida lawyers lose ‘pit bull’ appeal
From Reuters:
…“Two Florida lawyers on Monday lost a U.S. Supreme Court appeal that argued the state violated their free-speech rights by disciplining them for their television advertisements featuring a pit bull dog.
“The case involved a pair of Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers whose advertisements showed a spike-collared pit bull in their law
They blog, and the law wins
A profile of lawyer bloggers from yesterday’s Denver Post.…